About America Invents

Our History

America Invents started in Santa Monica in 1984. Our founder is an award-willing industrial designer named on over 100 patents. He moved the company to San Francisco in 1990. In 2002 our current president joined the company and purchased it in 2004. The company continues today with the long history of past and current success.

Since 1984 America Invents and its principals have licensed, developed, and marketed products that racked-up retail sales of $2 billion in 50,000 stores. This didn’t happen because we were lucky. This happened because of the relationships we built and the associations we established through our license agreements, product development contracts, and marketing projects.

We have an enormous advantage because we know what companies require, we know the terms they expect, and most important which companies never to approach. With our long history, we have the right contacts and go directly to the Decider in the right companies. Our DataBase gives us over 6,000 international corporate contacts that we know and have worked with. By working with America Invents, our clients instantly benefit from our expertise and connections.

Our Team

Both our Founder and President are inventors and innovators in many fields from toys and games to environmental breakthroughs and nuclear medicine gamma cameras, we have created millions of dollars, developed thousands of products, and licensed hundreds of innovations.

We know what it takes and what is needed for a simple idea or a complex innovation. We have the experience of what sells in the retail aisles, what works inside the corporation, on the lab bench, as well as in the classroom. Active in many industries, we have the knowledge and experience to cut through all of the confusion out there, and there is a lot of confusion out there.

The principals and owners of America Invents have been on the leading edge of innovation for decades consulting to the federal laboratories, working in corporate management, teaching innovation at leading universities, and advocating for the inventor.

Our President is an author and authority on the marketing of innovation, a court-approved expert witness, and a keynote speaker for the US Patent Office and the Licensing Executive Society at regional and national conferences sponsored by Hewlett Packard, Ernst & Young, Bank of America, and AT&T.

He was a lecturer and adjunct faculty at the University of California at Berkeley where he wrote, taught and instituted Entrepreneurship& Innovation and the Direct Marketing Certificate Program. He was also a lecturer and adjunct faculty at San Francisco State University teaching Graduate Seminars, Product Design, and Product Development.

His current book, “Licensing Myths & Mastery: Why Most Ideas Don’t Work What To Do About It” is the first in the Myths & Mastery series of seven books including the titles of Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Startups, Funding, and Mastery.

This book is for the 97 million Americans who want to quit their job and make money with their ideas. Licensing is one of the fastest and most profitable ways to make money with ideas. It is fast because it facilitates existing production, distribution, and marketing; and it is more profitable because it eliminates your costs and a percentage of the revenue goes into your pocket.

“Most Ideas Don’t Work” and fail because of one common denominator – bad decisions, which come from bad information. Bad information is everywhere, hard to recognize, and impossible to avoid. Failure precedes success, and knowing how to fail small, fail fast, and fail forward allows you to focus on what works.

“And What To Do About It” reveals valuable tips and secrets that will give you a distinct advantage. Learn new information like the Royalty Rule, Active Licensing, and the Acceptable Profit Threshold. Understand when to manufacture and when to license with the<>5X Rule.

The right license with the right company is everyone’s dream and may be the highlight of your career and your life. If you want to make money with your ideas, this book is for you.

Bestselling Authors and Experts in the Field Recommend America Invents

As world leaders in their industries, these unsolicited, third-party endorsements from bestselling authors and industry leaders reference and praise America Invents as the preeminent company in the industry. You can buy these books today in leading stores and on Amazon. (Contact us for a complete list.)

“Patent It Yourself” (2013) is the world’s bestselling patent book and author David Pressman says, “I know and have dealt with Mr. Seidel, who owns and runs America Invents for over 20 years. Bill and America Invents are completely honest and fair and a friend of the inventor and I recommend them in Patent It Yourself.” America Invents is the only marketing company he refers, page 11/4. http://www.nolo.com

“After another day in San Francisco with the President of America Invents, it’s obvious that this is one company that knows what it is doing when it comes to inventing, sales, branding, packaging, and the whole nine yards. Heck, with more household names and more success stories than I can count it’s easy to see why. They are the real deal. If you are looking for a way to jumpstart your product I suggest that you look at America Invents.”China Product Insider 2007

“Think It, Build It, Sell It!” (2015) by entrepreneur and author Jonathan Cantin features a ten-page interview and says, “I’ve had some awesome interviews and they just keep getting better! I approached the President of America Invents to see if he was willing to answer my questions and as you can see, he blew it out of the park!” https://www.amazon.com/Jonathan-Cantin/e/B002YL049U

“All I Need Is Money”(2006) by Jack Lander, the Inventor Mentor and columnist for Inventors’ Digest recommends us in two categories for Design, Prototyping, and Marketing, Licensing, chapter 12, pages 8 and 9.

“Secrets of Successful Inventing” (2014) by Edith G. Tolchin who is a writer, importing professional, and says, “America Invents is a licensing company with over 1.5 billion dollars in retail sales success.”

Dr. Stevanne Auerbach is Dr. Toy, speaker, consultant, author of 15 books and educator says, “Bill Seidel is an expert on products and design and has provided remarkable support and contributions over many decades. Trust his appraisals and forthcoming points of view.”

“Ball of Whacks”(2010) Dr. Roger von Oech is an internationally recognized leader in creativity and innovation and the founder and president of Creative Think and bestselling author. He acknowledges our President and America Invents for help and assistance with his products and development.

Lawrence J. Udell is an entrepreneur, business leader, innovation advocate, and the founder of over thirty corporations including the California Invention Center, the Napa Valley Wine Train, and the Center for New Venture Alliance. He is the Chairman Emeritus and Managing Director of the Silicon Valley Chapter of the Licensing Executives Society and he says, “I have had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Seidel for over 30 years. Besides being a successful inventor, he and America Invents have helped countless inventors see both their shortcomings and their true potential for success.” More at www.californiainventioncenter.org